Friday, March 29, 2024

HRC commends Zambia Police for aprehending people who forced 16 yr old to eat feces in Kitwe

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Human Rights Commission
Human Rights Commission

The Human Rights Commission condemns the alleged subjecting of a 16 year old boy in Kitwe to torture and other forms of cruel, dehumanising and degrading treatment or punishment and commends the Zambia Police Service for their rapid response towards investigating and arresting the suspects.

The emerging frightening trend of youth gangsters particularly in some parts of Copperbelt and Lusaka Provinces who are victimising individuals is deeply worrying and must decisively be stopped before becoming out of control.

Gangsterism infringes on a wide range of human rights and freedoms. Victims are physically, psychologically, sexually and verbally abused while others are deprived of their property and the right to freedom of movement, security of a person and the right to life are under constant threat and attack.

The reported forcing of the 16 year old boy in Kitwe to eat his own fecal matter and subjecting him to other forms of cruel, dehumanising and degrading treatment or punishment must attract the appropriate punishment of the perpetrators as may be meted out by the courts of law. The Commission therefore looks forward to the due process of the law taking its course, which includes taking the supsects to the courts of law within the legally stipulated timeframe and according them their right to the protection and benefit of the law as enshrined under Articles 13 and 18 of the Bill of Rights.

The Commission also wishes to encourage the police to thoroughly investigate the undercurrents relating to the formation of such criminal gangs of youths and come up with effective measures towards stamping out gansterism. In most cases dehumanising effects of poverty, negative peer pressure and drug abuse are catalysts for such juvenile delinquency manifesting itself in organised criminal gangs. This requires the involvement of everyone in supporting law enforcement officers in preventing and combating organised crime.

In particular, the parents and guadians of such youths have a critical role in providing counselling and guidance and must co-operate with law enforcement officers in the process of reforming the youths through the established criminal justice system.

The Commission also commends members of the public for their continued support to the Zambia Police Service in maintaining security by identifying and reporting the perpetrators in order to create a conducive environment for all law-abiding individuals to freely operate and live.

The Commission is concerned about such acts of lawlessness because breakdown of law and order grossly undermines the enjoyment of human rights and freedoms. Maintainace of law and oder and respect for human rights and freedoms are two sides of the same coin and must always be maintained and respected for the betterment of everyone in society.

[The Human Rights Commission is a National Human Rights Institution established under Article 230 of the Zambian Constitution (Amendment) Act No. 2 of 2016 with an overall mandate of ensuring that the Bill of Rights is upheld and promoted]

Mweelwa Muleya
Spokesperson
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

18 COMMENTS

  1. This doesn’t make sense to me.

    Gangerism in zambia eating what ?

    Nonsense

    Thanks

    BB2014,2016

    • The moral standards in Zambia have been flushed down the toilet since Lungu came to power.

      People are now doing as they please because they know Lungu only cares about alcohol, women, and stealing.

      Zambia is in Limbo right now, heading towards hell.

      Let us make the right choices in 2021.

    • @IndigoTyrol. What a lame excuse for indulging in anti social vices. The smallest government is your own family and you don’t blame another person if your children can’t behave properly. Any government can only do so much but the rest is up to you. Even in the UK where the government does more for its citizens there is worse moral decay than in Zambia.

    • I have read a book authored by the vice chancellor of the University of West Indies on the question of reparations for slavery (sorry the title escapes my memory). Slave masters used to mete out such punishments to slaves and that is the only example I have known of one human being doing a thing like that to another. It took me a while to post this because a chill went through my spine while reading the story. What is causing my fellow citizens to do such things? Did the British grant independence too early to Northern Rhodesia?

  2. Human rights commission should consider bringing their offices close to kitwe to mitigate such abuses before they spiral out of control. some individuals feel like they are superior to others subjecting such kind of mistreatment on others. Thanks

  3. Human rights commission should be proactive in controlling abuse from all corners regardless of the stature of the perpetrators.
    Take for instance it is only recently when the courts of law released the woman who repeatedly tortured her step daughter, but to our surprise HRC officials were all quiet.
    Now that the perpetrators are all poor people, HRC are busy commending the police officers for arresting the victims and I am sure they will be in the forefront of encouraging the courts of law to come up with a stiff penalty.
    Impartiality must prevail for all Zambians regardless of ones status, we are all equal.

  4. Sata invented Gangsterism in Zambia!!
    For all those aware of Zambias history, Sata whilst a UNIP official, created the Vigilante’s, as stormtroopers to enforce UNIP’s one party ideas, & instill fear in the masses.
    Fast forward to MMD, Sata morphed the Vigilante’s, into Cadres, & they also terrorise opponents.
    Come P.F, the Panga welding Cadre, had been given extreme powers, & took over from the nation’s Police force, causing the problem we have now, where a Panga wielding ex Katondo street illegal Forex dealer Chimpyongo was made Home Affairs Minister, & the rest is history.
    3/4 of Government posts in Zambia today are headed by ill qualified, Panga weilding stone throwing Mposa mabwes, some even as advisors to ba Jona, then we wonder why Zambia is a violent Cholera flawed…

  5. the biggest and perhaps most worrying truth about my country is the assumption that the republican president is always wrong. when my child calculates 4 + 4 as 19, it is the president etc. maturity in my country is still far away.

  6. The judiciary sees nothing seriously wrong with this kind of behavior and will only charge the thugs with misconduct or assault. Before long they will be out on the streets. Mean while the police sticking to the script, will lose the evidence, sometimes even the suspects , and in the worst case scenario intimidate the witnesses or complainants.

  7. When we talk about what legacy the PF is bound to live behind, this is what we mean. This kids have been seeing PF caders do this and are even encouraged when Steven Kampyango and the likes encourage it.
    Do you see the kind of society you are creating? How will you stop this?
    Please, be weary that money is the root of evil and use civilized means of competing with the opposition. Am just a small voice in the wilderness but in one of our local languages it is clear ‘ mana afuma mujifwesa atwela mukyulu’ or another which says

    • ‘Amano yafuma mwifwesa yaingila muchulu’. He who has ears, let him hear and may God witness to your hearts.

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